Each year, we take a trip when the weather turns to look at flagpoles throughout Indiana and the midwest. We started in Indianapolis, headed down to Evansville, and now we are in Terre Haute, looking to head into Illinois. This winter has been particularly hard on flags this year. We were expecting to see flag displays with many issues. We talk to fellow flag flyers about preventative maintenance, but many organizations have a "if it's not broken, don't fix it" policy. There is no wonder each spring many flag displays are broken. If you are just replacing the flag year after year, take a look at your parts. Chances are your flag display has hardware that needs replacing.

We were talking this morning and comparing this to a car. You buy a car and get oil changes regularly, you take care of the car, but if you don't look at the air filter, have the fluids flushed, tire pressure checked, your car will break down and result in costly repairs. Preventative car maintenance goes a long way for your car as preventative flag maintenance goes a long way for your flag. While flags do not cost as much as a car, a mismanaged flag display can cost you in time. Quickly fraying flags will give your customers, employees, and community the wrong impression.

So FlagRunners travel the midwest and take a look at different cities, towns, businesses to see what we can find. A flagpole is a flagpole, but you would be surprised how that definition changes from flyer to flyer. We've seen a lot of creative ways to fly a flag. I'm sure we haven't seen them all. Sometimes the creative flag flyer has better solution than the industry standard. That is why we head out. Armed with our hearts and a pair of running shoes we say, "Flag On!" and run to the next flag display. We sure hope it is yours.

Have a great flag flying year. Send us a picture and we'll post it here. Flag Flyers like people who fly flags. FlagRunners help people fly flags.